Sections

BLOP guide for the terrified

We hear from Mel Scaffold, our Acting Producer (Live) as she gives us an insight into BLOP 2012…

The countdown is on to BLOP 2012, so join us as we dispel the myths – or perhaps indulge in a little myth-making of our own…

So, what is a ‘BLOP’?

Bristol Live Open Platform – it’s Arnolfini’s biannual festival of all things live and wonderful, and it’s taking over the venue for a day to bring you a packed programme of events.

Live? That’s a bit broad isn’t it?

Yes, that’s part of the joy of Live Art – it’s about performance that doesn’t fit neatly into other categories. Some people might think it sounds inaccessible but the term covers a huge range of work so there’s bound to be something for everyone. Artist Joshua Sofaer describes Live Art simply as “when an artist chooses to make work directly in front of the audience” – rather than leaving, say, a painting for you to experience in your own time, the work is created with the audience present.

There will be work that crosses over the borders of dance, theatre, visual art and sound, but what ties the works together is attitude. The whole day is about experiments, unpredictability and expecting the unexpected.

Like when I set my eyebrows on fire in chemistry class?

Um, no….chaos theory might be a better way of looking at it! With 26 performances throughout the day we’re hoping for a buzzing atmosphere, and the sense that anything might happen (although of course behind the scenes mission control will be ensuring it all runs smoothly!)

26 performances? Is Arnolfini some sort of TARDIS? Where will they all fit?

The spaces are being reinvented throughout the day, with performances happening in all the studios, public spaces and outside too. Alongside three theatre programmes in the auditorium there will be durational performances, intimate one-to-ones, and artists popping up in the foyer, in windows, in the bookshop…

Ok, ok…and what might I see on the day?

Well for starters you might huddle in a tent listening to tall stories about Bigfoot, witness the weaving of time in a studio, see a portion of the quayside transformed with gold, buy a mini-performance from a market stall or take part in an audio treasure hunt through Arnolfini and beyond. And that’s just the first hour.

And that goes on for the whole day? Must be pretty expensive.

It’s just £6 (£5 concessions) for a pass that gets you in to every performance of the day, which works out at an incredible 26p per piece! Plus anything happening in the foyer or public spaces is FREE so you can come along and try it out, and if you want more we’ll be happy to oblige.

Blimey. Sounds like I’ll need a drink after all that.

Glad you mentioned it. It wouldn’t be BLOP without the after party in the Café Bar. You can meet the artists and chat about the work over a beer, or just sit and take it all in.